Last night was Game 2 of the World Series. The Phillies played roughly the same game as they did in Game 1. But this time they did not have their ace, Cole Hamels pitching and as a result, the game had a very different result. Neither team was very good at getting hits with runners in scoring position. But Tampa Bay managed to get people on early and then score on ground outs. So they managed to drive in runs without hits and win the game 4-2. Jamie "Big Game" Shields managed to live up to his name and pitch 5 2/3 scoreless innings. And the young pitching star Price came out and stopped Philly for the last few innings. He even helped to increase the drama by throwing erratically to walk Utley on four pitches only to strike out the next batter, Howard.
But that kind of play was the standard for the Phils all night. The Phillies are now 1 for 28 with runners in scoring position this series. They were 0 for 13 in the first game and 1 for 15 in game 2. The Rays had similarly bad numbers but managed to score anyway. And they showed that they will keep finding ways to win. While it seems like the Phils are trying to find ways to lose.
There is one positive for me about the Phils loss. It now means that the Phils cannot sweep the Rays and end the series on Sunday night. I have an exam on Monday and therefor would not be able to join in the raucous celebration on Sunday. So thank you Ryan Howard for going 50 at bats without a home run. I know you just want to let people savor this series. The city of Philadelphia would like to enjoy this moment for as long as possible.
Tomorrow the series moves to Philly. Hopefully the home crowd will help inspire the Phightins to get some hits and actually get some runners home. This team left 11 runners on base last night. That's just sad. I can already hear the boos if this keeps up. And with the ALCS MVP , Matt Garza, taking the mound tomorrow, the Phils are really going to have to find their swing. We'll also get to see if Jamie Moyer can use his experience to shut down this young Rays lineup. Or maybe the Rays will break out like they did in Boston? If so the Philly bullpen better be ready to come out early and work hard.
I'm still pulling for the Phillies. But as I said before, I'm an Orioles fan and consequently no stranger to heartbreak. Anyway, GO PHILLIES!!
Side Note: I wrote most of this post on the way back to Maryland for the Maryland Homecoming tomorrow on the Chinatown bus. I know, it's crazy to think that cheap crappy bus now has free Wifi. But I forgot one crucial lesson when riding the Chinatown bus, never sit near the back unless there are no other seats available. The closer you get to the back the closer you get to the bathroom and the more it smells. I had forgotten this and just wanted to pass on the word. For anyone not familiar with the Chinatown bus, its a cheap bus that will take you up and down the northeast corridor from Chinatown to Chinatown. It costs $15 to go from Philly to DC or Baltimore and even less to go from Philly to New York. Despite its sometime smelly nature, its cheaper, more reliable and faster than Greyhound. I figure with the way the economy is looking, cheap transport is in pretty high demand. Plus now they have free internet. So its not all bad.
0 comments:
Post a Comment